Argentinian steel traders are optimistic about the upcoming business climate generated by the promised removal of import restrictions, although they recognize the process will take several months.
Since 2012, all goods entering Argentina have had to apply for a document called Advance Sworn Import Declaration (DJAI), and only after this document is approved by the government are the materials released by customs.
Recently elected President Mauricio Macri said the DJAI will be discontinued December 31 and new procedures will be valid from January 1. A new monitoring system will be implemented to automatically free up most of the country's purchases abroad.
"We have to wait until January to see in fact how this system will work, as it has been three years that such bureaucratic procedures have been in effect," one trader said, adding that he is expecting a faster process. "Previously, it used to take up to 60 days for it to be approved or not."
Other sources, however, doubt that steel products will be on the list for automatic permits and said it will depend on how much pressure local steelmakers put on the government, as the DJAI used to protect local producers from foreign competitors, especially Chinese.
"The point is: if the imported product is considered a threat to the industry, it will probably continue facing restrictions," another trader said.
The country's steel chamber Camara Argentina del Acero and the steelmaking institute IAS did not comment on the issue.
Macri's reforms also include loosening currency controls in a bid to increase exports and spark economic growth.
"It could lead to a sudden rush for US dollars and, conversely, a weakening of the Argentinian peso," a Buenos Aires steel trader said.
